When will I see colours
by graymittens
Summary: Elsa, wallowing in her 20-something year old angst, meets Anna.
1. Chapter 1

When will I see colours

Chapter 1

Elsa sighed. She had just screwed up a massive chain which would have resulted in a perfect on one of the songs—extreme mode, of course—on Project Diva. Putting down the controller she leaned back on the couch. She was alone again. Dad had just left for work and it would be a few more hours until her older brother Kristoff got home.

Boy was summer break boring. It was ironic how sleeping in, waking up past noon every day and not really doing much else could get _really_ tiring. She didn't get out much. She was sort of a homebody. Actually, she was a total homebody hermit recluse asocial... thing. The only time she left home was to go to work at an overpriced coffee shop. Her coworkers probably thought she was weird or something. They had asked her several times before to hang out with them but she had said no. Honestly, she didn't really want to get drunk and smoke; it just wasn't her thing. She liked playing video games and farming items and gold and yeah… gaming stuff. Elsa didn't consider herself socially inept. Okay, maybe just a little. She thought that she had passable social skills or at least that she could fake it well enough that if you only met her once, you would think her completely normal… if you excluded her immediate blushing whenever _anyone_ talked to her and her being practically selectively mute. She could talk to some people fine, and others she couldn't even look at let alone talk to them. Talking to people was difficult. It was hard to come up with things to say when you didn't give a rat's ass about what someone was saying. She wished that she was one of those people who could eloquently bullshit, but alas she was not. She was the stare-dumbly-at-you-while-panicking-on-the-inside type.

On top of having no life, she had just idiotically missed her college's deadline for field placement which meant that she would have to defer placement for the next time around and graduate late.

_Mother is going to kill me,_ Elsa thought glumly.

The fact was that she had a university degree in an impractical field. Art History, fascinating as it may be, was a very difficult field to succeed in especially if you sucked at talking to people_. And I suck at talking to people._ She enrolled in a two-year college program hoping that it would land her a self-sustainable job. She was almost through with elementary school 2.0 and then she had to go and screw up field placement.

_And now I'm 24, I have no career, I have no life, I messed up college._

She didn't always feel this down but she had a lot of time on her hands at the moment. She couldn't help herself from her guilty pleasure: _thinking about life_.

And right now it felt like life was taking a massive dump on her face.

a/n: This my first go at writing fanfiction, or anything else other than essays and reports. Please read and review :) thanks.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

_'Hey Anna, you up for anything today?'_

_'Maybe next week? Have plans today'_

_'K, text when you're free' _

For the past month or so Anna had totally been blowing off her real-life friends. She didn't really feel bad though. They'd survive without her. Today was Friday which meant that later Anna would be PVPing with her fellow sisters! _Gosh that sounds so lame,_ Anna thought, _oh well_. Anna had never really been interested in video games before. She had watched her older brother Hans play them but they never caught her interest. Until now. One day Anna decided that she wanted to purchase a video game. Just like that one day that she decided to cut her hair short, or that one day that she decided to buy a guitar, or that one day where she decided to buy a mini longboard—terrible idea. She hurt her leg badly. Anyhow, she chocked up her sudden video game interest to another spontaneous act. It wasn't completely spontaneous though. She did do some research into which games she might actually want to play instead of buying one at random. She chose a relatively new pastoral themed massive multiplayer online game. She reached the highest level in one month and even made her own guild, _The Sisters of Moira; _hence PVPing with her fellow sisters. _And to think one month ago I didn't even know what PVP or any other gaming term meant. And how the hell I came up with that guild name, I do not know._

Killing other players would come later this evening though. She hadn't been completely lying when she said she had plans. Right now she was meeting her classmate Tom at a coffee shop that he had been a regular at for the last 7 years. _Tom, Tom, Tom, already downing coffee at the ripe young age of 15_. Anna was sitting in her car in the parking lot as she eyed the meeting place. The seats were filled with people on their laptops. _No surprise there. Students love procrastinating at coffee shops._ Her phone beeped with a text.

_'Hey Anna, won't be there today. Something came up at work and I've gotta go in __:(__' _

_'Ughhhh srsly?'_

_'Srsly. Next Friday same place same time? So sorry, please forgive'_

_'Fine fine.'_

Great. At least this place had free Wi-fi. _I guess_ _I'll just be the student that I am. _Upon entering the coffee shop Anna noticed that it was really run down. Not in a bad way though, just that it looked old. The furniture was banged up and had definitely seen better days. The rough shape of the interior gave it that cozy homely feel. Anna walked up to the counter. There was no line. A few staff were silently standing further behind the front counter with their arms crossed. They looked bored.

"Hi", a blond girl approached and greeted her. Anna glanced to her nametag. It read Elsa. _That's a really nice name_, Anna thought.

"Hi, can I just get a tea?"

"Sure. Which one?"

"I'm not sure. Which teas do you have again?" To which Elsa began listing teas. Anna wasn't really listening, and she was certainly staring. _At least it _looks_ like I'm paying attention_. This girl was beautiful, unlike anybody Anna had ever seen before. She had clear sky-blue eyes. Her pale blond hair was tied up in a side braid which hung over her shoulder and her bangs were swept back with some loose pieces falling over her face. She looked really… cool. _Yeah, very descriptive Anna_. But there was simply no other way to put it. And her voice was perfect. Not too high-pitched or too deep and with a mature feminine sound. No, it wasn't just her voice that was perfect. All of her features put together made Elsa perfect in Anna's eyes. At least outwardly_,_ since they didn't even know each other, yet. _Yet?!_ _What's with the yet, Anna?! _But Anna didn't want to be negative and would go with the assumption that Elsa had a perfect personality too. _And even if she had 'flaws', that would just make her even more perfect._ Anna zoned back in and realized Elsa was staring at her. She must have finished her listing and was expecting a response. Anna vaguely remembered hearing… nope. She didn't hear or remember anything that Elsa had just said.

"Green." _If they don't even have green tea… _

"Sure." Elsa had left to get the tea.

_Phew,_ Anna thought. When she came back Anna handed her the money. "Thanks." They smiled at each other. Anna thought Elsa's smile was really pretty, _and it looked genuine too._ For some reason Anna really wanted to… _how should I put this: I really want to be her friend. No, not just her friend. I mean, I guess that I'm attracted to her… so I want to date her? _She wanted to see Elsa smile again. She wanted to get to know Elsa. Anna had very seldom felt that way about a total stranger. The last time that happened was two years ago when she was in her first year of university. It hadn't ended so well.

Anna found a table in a corner and opened up her laptop. She was still pondering her feelings as she absentmindedly opened her guild webpage and headed to the forum. There was a new post in the forum directed to her from someone called The Frozen Queen.

_Hi, just joined this website. Would love to join your guild. Have been looking for a small female friendly guild for endgame activities. My in-game name is the same as my forum name. Please send me an invite when you log on next __:-)__ and yes, I am female._

Anna chuckled. _The Sisters of Moira _was a woman only guild. Or at least that's how Anna advertised it when she was recruiting new members. There were probably a few guys in it but Anna hadn't had any problems with that yet nor did she mind. At least when they voice chatted everyone _sounded _female. Anna wasn't going to second guess that. Anna replied to the forum post. She stayed at the shop for another hour or so just checking her email and school stuff.

When Anna returned home later, she logged onto the game and sent The Frozen queen an invite. Guessing from the non-immediate response, she wasn't online. Even an evening of player-versus-player couldn't keep her mind from wandering. She was thinking about Elsa and how she would get to know her. She wasn't too concerned though because she knew that she'd probably see her again if she kept hanging out with Tom at the coffee shop.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Elsa stumbled upstairs. She felt crazed. She was pretty sure she was having a mild photosensitive seizure or something like that because she kept seeing black splotches and she felt like she was floating. For the past sixteen hours, she had been sitting in front of her computer mindlessly killing everything in her virtual path. Now she was finally tired. Making it to her bedroom, she squinted at the clock; it was four in the morning. _Crap_, she thought. She had to be at work by five-thirty. _At least I have one hour to 'sleep.' _ She made her way through her train wreck of a room. Clothes, papers and books littered the floor as well as growing dust piles. _This place looks like a sty_. Elsa summed it up to her being in what she called her 'withering away' phase which was basically her neglecting things because she was disenchanted with life. Kristoff poked fun at her when he would come home in the evening to find her in front of her computer just as he had left her in the morning. He would ask her all about her day already knowing that she didn't leave the house, hadn't really eaten much and hadn't really moved from her spot.

Elsa didn't really consider herself a gamer. There were times where she would play a lot—like now—but she also had periods where she didn't game at all. On top of that, she felt her game knowledge was rather limited. The only games she played were whatever few games Kristoff bought but never got around to. All-in-all, she didn't really know _that_ much about gaming, or computers; apparently playing PC games meant that you knew about computers. Contrary to what Elsa believed, she always ended up spending hours in front of a console or her computer. Her mother said that she was addicted, but Elsa didn't think it was _that_ bad. Truth be told, she often didn't even enjoy playing games. Gaming had become routine, brainless clicking and button-mashing. For Elsa, gaming was a way to escape—from what? She couldn't exactly say. The meaning of gaming, as well as everything else, changed as Elsa got older. At the present, as she lay on her mattress with only a pillow under her head, she supposed that she used gaming as justifying herself and the fact that she had practically no life, no friends and no human contact outside of her immediate family. She didn't even know why she should feel this way. Telling people that she played games was how Elsa excused her own awkward and strange behaviour. This excuse worked amongst people who bought into the _'gamers are weird hermits'_ stereotype and surprisingly, a lot of people though this way. She knew this stereotype wasn't true, yet she was all for perpetuating it if only to protect herself. The truth was, Elsa was deathly afraid of people. Specifically, she was hyper-sensitive to even the most minute forms of rejection. She was scared of saying hello to someone because they might not saying hello back. She was scared of answering questions in class in case she got them wrong. She was scared that if people found out who she really was, they would treat her differently. That was why Elsa never let anyone come too close. If she found herself getting attached to someone, she would back off and reign herself in. _Conceal, don't feel_ was the mantra she always told herself. Elsa always wondered when and how she became so withdrawn but she could never pinpoint a particular moment.

Gaming had positives though. Elsa learned a lot about how economies worked, how to bargain with people, how to spot scammers, and how to deal with interesting characters. The fact that everything was online made it easier because there was always a blacklist option if you were truly desperate. Plus, not having to face people made things easier. To Elsa, online interactions were purely online. She was never interested in making the connection with the person behind the username. Elsa heard stories of people making friends online and then in real life, but she liked to keep both worlds apart. In fact, Elsa was terrible at making friends online just as she was terrible at making them in real life. Many people liked to have a conversation; whereas Elsa liked to farm things, harvest things, hyper train or power through quests, all while ignoring the few poor souls who partied with her.

Elsa had recently joined a guild on a newer game that she was playing. It was about time that she found a group to help her endgame goals. She liked this new guild; it had a cool name, _The Sisters of Moira_. She didn't participate in guild chat and hadn't gotten the boot yet. That was a good sign. The guild store was a convenient way to buy and sell things and she finally had a default mob she could join when she PVPed. Plus, the leader, 1ST Light, was pretty badass. She had led their guild to many victories. However, it was during one of their losing battles that 1ST Light messaged her.

'hey, that's one smokinn hawt char you have there.'

Elsa giggled. 'lol thanks, but let's just focus on taking down this fort, mmkay?'

'too late, I just died, and so did you.'

_Damn!_ She was right. Elsa wasn't used to typing and playing at the same time. She watched her character disintegrate into a pile of ashes. 'thanks to you.' Elsa didn't want to return to the battle just yet. They were getting owned and they needed to regroup. She would just wait until more people died and respawned back at their fort. She decided she would talk to this 1ST Light person. She was her guild leader after all.

'no problem. so, I've noticed that you're pretty much a god, but I've never heard of you.' She was right. Elsa had accumulated so many points in PVP that she ranked fifth on the server. She killed almost everyone who crossed her path and almost never died… unless she was trying to type and play at the same time.

'uhh I'm low-key I guess?'

'That's cool. I'm glad that you chose our guild. But let's get back to the main point. Where the heck did you get those clothes?! I've never seen them before. That is probably the sexiest outfit I've ever seen in this game.' Okay. So 1ST Light had weird tastes. Elsa's avatar was wearing a rather plain dark blue slim gown with a pale orange fur-trimmed caplet. On her head rested a pale orange fur-trimmed hat. It kind of looked like a Santa Claus hat, except the tail wasn't that long. _Whatever floats her boat?_

'The Chasm.' The Chasm was one of the most difficult locations in the game.

'oooooo. That place is a little too tough for me :(.'

'uhmm yea. It was tough for me. I died like 43243, but I guess that doesn't matter because I'm hawt ;-)'

'haha, can't believe I said that, but it's true.'

'I was thinking of going back there maybe tomorrow or something. The loot is sorta amazing. We should go there together. I need a meat shield. Also, you have unexpected tastes.'

'ohmygosh. That would be awesome! I would be honoured! And I have unexpectedly discerning tastes thankyouverymuch. So what time zone are you in? so we can synchronize better.'

'EST.'

'ohhh, same here. Ontario?'

'Toronto?'

'This is crazy! We could practically be neighbours!'


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Anna was at the coffee shop again and she wasn't even there with Tom. She had been going there a lot lately that the employees, Elsa included, even knew what her drink was: a small green tea. Anna figured it was because hers was an easy one compared to some of the other permutations she'd heard. What Anna really wanted was for Elsa to learn her name even though she had a feeling Elsa already knew what it was. Elsa sometimes chatted with Tom while she was sitting beside him. It was a bit awkward… Elsa never acknowledged her. But then again, it's not like Tom tried introducing her either. From what she could tell, Elsa only talked with him to be polite.

Anna was sitting in Tom's usual seat at the corner of the bar counter. She was on her laptop emailing her professors and what not, updating the guild profile and other important tasks. She was also eavesdropping on the employee conversations mostly because she wanted to hear Elsa's voice and find out more about her. _I'm not a creepy stalker, _she kept telling herself. Anna would have to say that Elsa was an oddball by social norms. She was awkward when dealing with customers and even some of her coworkers. She was friendly but she wasn't like her coworkers who could start and carry on conversations with customers. When she made drinks she would hide behind the espresso machines, _probably to avoid customers_. She blushed a lot whenever addressed by practically anyone– _awwwwww, cute. _But when she talked amongst employees Anna observed that Elsa was witty, smart, and funny albeit still on the quiet side. She was definitely someone Anna wanted to know better. _She's so … adorkable. __By now Anna's laptop was on power save mode. __Wow, I just spent like half an hour thinking about Elsa who is across the counter! Lol._ Anna half-heartedly berated herself for the lost time but was planning her next move: she was going to order a fancy drink next visit so that Elsa would have to ask her for her name.

"Excuse me..." Anna snapped up to see Elsa standing in front of her on the other side of the counter. Her heart sped up a bit as she stared wide-eyed.

"Oh, hi Elsa," Anna replied coolly. _Omigoshhhh_. _Elsa is voluntarily talking to me. Must play it totally cool. Must control nostril flare, and breathe normally._

"Uh. Hi…" Elsa said quirking an eyebrow and staring back_._ Anna had to back track a bit. They had yet to have a formal conversation with each other so it would be a bit strange that Anna knew Elsa's name. _Oh crud, now I seem like one of the creepy customers who make a point of reading employee name-tags and addressing employees by their names… which is sort of true… _

"I saw your name-tag before if you're wondering how I know your name and all…" Anna grinned sheepishly. _Not stalker-ish at all._

"Cool. Well, we're closing in five minutes… Anna," Elsa said as she chuckled a bit.

"Oh, okay thanks._" _Anna smiled back and hurriedly gathered her things. Back in her car she replayed their short conversation over and over. She was a bit disappointed that Elsa had only called on her to kick her out._ Wait a second… she called me by my name! Elsa knows my name! __This is the best getting-kicked-out-of-a-coffee shop ever!_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Elsa sat down in front of her computer. When the screen came to life, she saw that she had received several messages from 1ST Light recently. They seemed to be messages of excitement and urgency. Elsa snorted, _wonder what's gotten into her._

Before she started playing, Elsa reflected on the day's events. _Pretty boring, really_. Then she thought about work. _Worked sucked, as per usual_. Then she thought about Anna. Today was the first time she really look looked at Anna. Yes, Anna was an extreme regular who spent copious amounts of time at the shop, but Elsa didn't really know how and didn't really care to reach out to her and therefore had no reason to look at her other than if she saw Anna in her peripheral vision. Besides, Anna seemed preoccupied with work or whatever the hell she did on her computer as she camped at the shop.

When the time came to kick out customers, a task which Elsa loathed that her coworkers strangely loved, Elsa had gotten a chance to really look at Anna, 'to appraise her features' as she'd like to say. That was Elsa's version of 'checking someone out'. Anna … looks like a really kind person… Elsa couldn't really explain it. She just got a good feeling from Anna, as if all her features combined made it seem like she'd have an open-minded, kind, and strong character. She was judging Anna hard, but who doesn't (judge)? She didn't have much else to go by anyways. People called her judgmental, and she admitted it. The important part to Elsa was that she didn't immediately act on those judgements. Others would overuse the phrase, "I don't judge". _As if. Judging is inevitable, it happens subconsciously even if you are consciously trying not to. I get so mad when—woahkay, stop wasting emotion on this. _Elsa looked at the clock, _wasted fifteen minutes._ _Oh well. Time to destroy._

Pulling up her friends list. She double clicked 1ST Light to send her a whisper. "Hey, pvp?" It was only a few seconds for a response.

"Dude! The greatest thing just happened to me today. And yea. Let's do this!"

"I figured from your earlier excited messages and your usage of exclamation marks now. What happened?"

"The girl that I like, talked to me!" So, 1ST Light is into girls. Elsa wasn't expecting that. Well, she wasn't expecting anything for that matter. She didn't really care for personal life details or details pertaining to who someone fancied.

"Is she everything you thought she'd be and more?"

"Yea. We only said like two things to each other, but I can just tell y'know?"

"Tell what? -.-" This time the reply took a bit longer.

"I dunno, like, I made a good choice liking her… because she's great."

"How do you know she's great? You said you exchanged two words -.-;" Elsa thought back to her daily reflection and how she thought Anna gave her good feels. She was a hypocrite. Maybe she was being a little mean. "I mean, she could be the total opposite of what you're thinking. I know that has happened to me a few times."

"I get it." Pause. "I guess that just means that I'll have to get to know her :)" Seeing 1ST Light say that made Elsa think of her nonexistent situation with Anna. Maybe she could talk to Anna a little. Or at least say 'hi' when she saw her in the shop. Or smile at her. Or acknowledge her existence. It would make the situation less awkward for Elsa when Tom was a the shop with Anna. It was weird when Anna was sitting with Tom and Elsa only talked to Tom.

"that's good. You've inspired me. Sorta."

"ooooooooo, so there's someone with a special place in your heart, too?"

"uhmm, not really. Seems like a really good person though, even though we haven't really spoken."

"ahh, I seeee ;). Glad I inspired you, but enough chatter. Let's pvp :)"


End file.
